RESULTS

Of the 346 (40%) internists who responded, 22% were women and 60% were trained in university hospitals.

There were no differences in gender, subspecialization, or type of training when survey responders and nonresponders were compared.

Two hundred eighty-seven (83%) physicians had met with pharmaceutical sales representatives within the previous year, of whom 248 (86%) had received drug samples.

Having had a policy that limited access to pharmaceutical sales representatives during residency did not affect the subsequent likelihood of seeing these representatives (P=0.20) or accepting samples in practice (P=0.99). (...)